Letter to Jiujitsu: Part 4

Thank you for…

Thank you for showing me how to be myself.

Anyone that hides behind ego won’t survive in this sport.

I learned pretty quick that the only thing I could do was be myself on the mat.

The people that I do jiujitsu with have seen me at my worst: crying and bloody and bruised, immature and emotional. You can’t hide it. You can't hide behind ego in jiujitsu.

My teammates have also seen me at my best: the moments where I accept defeat, the moments where I accept failure and confusion with grace. Thank you for showing me that it’s okay to fail.

They are also there to witness the moments when I get the move for the first time in drilling; when I get the move for the first time when flow rolling; for the first time with a white belt; for the first time with a colored belt. And they share my joy in that moment.

Thank you for showing me that I am athletic; that I am coordinated; that I am strong. Thank you for showing me that I persevere through challenges.

Thank you for showing me community, love, and family. For teaching me what the cliche “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” means; that as a whole we are greater together than we are as individuals. Through this, I learned a source of power greater than myself.

Thank you for everything.

Me with three of my female teammates at a jiujitsu tournament in February 2020.

A compilation of photos with my team from the tournament in February 2020.

Group photo from Rox and my Adventure Jiu-Jitsu Camp in June 2019. The camp was cancelled this year due to COVID-19.